When Life Hands You Lemons...You'll Need To Know This

Life isn't fair. It just isn't.

We all know that, of course.  But sometimes the ugly truth resurfaces and sucker punches you in the gut. 

Like the other day, when I was innocently reading an email forwarded to a group of women from my church. One of the members, someone I didn't know, was thanking us for our prayers.

She said she'd been diagnosed with cancer, and, fortunately, was eligible for the newest treatment available. All she had to do was take a pill each day. Side effects were minimal and things were going well. She was living her normal life, just a little slower pace.

Suddenly, an uncontrollable gut reaction struck me. Anger arose from deep within, fueled by my own longtime sufferings initiated by my ongoing battle with cancer treatments.

What? I thought. No trips to the chemo lab? No bone pain? No visits to the ER? No suffering? No rashes? No intestinal uproars? No brain pain? No fatigue that body-slams you to the ground?

I clenched my fists.

Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for her. I really am. Recent advancements in cancer treatments are racing toward a cure. It's all good.

But suddenly, without warning, I'm wondering why I didn't draw that lucky card...Did I do something wrong? Is this somehow my fault? Why is this so unfair?

Then I stopped.

Suddenly I remembered a 4 year-old-preschooler who's battling cancer. How fair is that? I recalled a friend who died of cancer last fall. How fair is that? I thought about the 20 years my cancer lay dormant, while another mom succumbed to the dreaded disease during that timeframe. How fair is that?

Life isn't fair... I'm sure you have your own situations where you can fill in the blanks... Life just isn't fair.

But, as I turn my thoughts heavenward, down falls peace. Quietly, I accept the fact...Life never was meant to be fair...No, it never was...All you have to do is look at the cross...there's power in the cross.

Yes, there's power in the cross...there's power in my cross...and...I daresay...there's power in your cross too.

All we have to do is look up and listen...listen to these mighty words:

Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.  Isaiah 41:10

We pray that you'll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul...strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy.  Colossians 1:11,12

He gives power to the faint and weary, and to him who has no might He increases strength - causing it to multiply and making it abound.  Isaiah 40:29

So the last shall be first, and the first shall be last. Matthew 20:16

Doesn't that just put a smile on your face? With Christ, we can overcome anything!

How about a little music? Click here to listen to Lead Me To the Cross by Hillsong and have a fabulous day!